Today's Ride

[mk one]

Warm with a not to cold cool breeze

Great day for riding, not so for sitting looking out the window, so i chose the former and went for a quick ride around the block.

LOTS of walkers/families/dogs out today, no suprise really, though i did suprise a few of them from behind.

Felt good once out so extended the block a bit, really nice ride.

 

[mk one]

Cold but sunny today.

With such a beautiful morning and the roads still damp i decided to go for a ride on the mtb instead of mc today. It was cold but not really any wind so riding was just about perfect, and stopping in the sun now and again was quite warm.

I did a longer loop today which included the 5 pits trail, old railway tracks but with plenty of ups and downs to break the monotony, and also means you cover a lot of ground and can connect some nice riding spots. The way i rode the loop meant a loooong slog up to Hardwick hall, just seen on the last few pics. I only live a mile or so from there but its hard earnt.

A great day and ride.

 

[Pipmeister]

Re:

Great views again Mark.

It was chilly first thing here, but by midday we reached almost 12 deg here in West Berkshire.

I did a loop of Greenham Common today and stopped for a couple of pictures in Sandleford Woods, which look lovely in the Autumn colours.

It was still a little soggy under tyre after all the rain on Saturday, which sometimes caught me out with the fall of leaves hiding the mushy bits!

Sandleford 301019 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Sandleford 301019_1 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Pip

 

[Pipmeister]

Re:

There was a proper chill in the air this morning with a severe frost first thing. By the time I got up to Crookham and Greenham however, it had warmed up to 9 deg C .

We had a lot of rain here at the weekend, so it was very gloopy under a fresh leaf fall in the wooded sections. Once I was out on the open common though, the gravel tracks made the going easier.

Crookham:
Crookham 061119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Crookhan looking South:
Crookhan looking South 061119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


I bumped into a gaggle of cyclists, and one of the guys who was probably late 40's was on a 2001 Kona Nunu. He referred to it as really old, and wondered what he had said to make me laugh. I rattled off a few of my bikes, including my 1993 Kilauea with P2s - I had to explain what fully rigid meant.

Greenham looking South:
Greenham looking South 061116 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Greenham looking North:
Greenham looking North by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Pip

 

[al-onestare]

Re:

Three from last week

 

[mk one]

Mild today

In contrast to al's sunny pics i was hoping to wake to snow today, but it has turned a bit milder.

Had a nice ride out through Gara woods, over the road from Sherwood Pines back entrance car park, doesnt see much use apart from locals really so didnt see a single person, apart from a couple of die hard anglers down at the lakes. Some nice little trails with a bit of everything thrown in. Stopped at Parliment Oak for a minute with great views of Pines in the distance.

A great ride which was fun, wet and slippy, especially with summer tyres still on

 

[Pipmeister]

Re:

I did a loop of Greenham and Crookham again today, and the weather was absolutely stimulating. Only 8.5 deg C, but it felt warmer.

On the track that climbs up to the Common, I took a short nip into Newbury and Crookham Golf Course as I saw a fox dart in there ahead of me. I managed to get quite close for a picture:


Fox Crookham Golf 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

This is looking North back down into the Kennet Valley:


Crookham Golf Club 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Once on the Common, I found a little trail that I’ve not been on before, but the fall of Beech leaves hid the sloppy terrain underneath. I know what you mean Mark about Summer tyres, I must change these over!

Lovely autumn colours:


Crookham131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

It took me out through to the area where the Silos are. This is the triple wire fence that keeps people out now, but it was even more secure when the Missiles were here:


Greenham Silos 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

I took a blip through Bowdown Woods on the way home, which I have mentioned before, but this is the first time I’ve taken a picture of Bowdown House. It was taken over by the Air Ministry in 1942 to plan the invasion of North Africa:


Bowdown House 131119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Overall a lovely ride.

Pip

 

[The History Man]

Re:

Couldn’t walk the lampshade so had to ride a bike.

 

[Pipmeister]

Re:

I still haven’t quite got into the swing of riding Off Road in sloppy conditions, so I decided to take out the 1993 Kilauea that is set up for Road Riding. It reached 8 deg C, so very pleasant in the Sun.

I did a fair sized loop around the Kennet Valley, starting off with a blip up to Burys Bank, which runs parallel to the River, Canal and Railway – just out of sight over the brim of this field:

Burys Bank 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


I’ve never seen any Horse Drawn Vehicles along here, but the Cattle do roam across the road, hence the Cattle Grid!

Burys Bank Grid by Philip Mock, on Flickr


I dipped back down into the valley and took a look at Newbury Race Course, which I have never actually been to!

Looking West:

Newbury Race Course by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Looking South East:

Newbury Race Course_1 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Then across the River Kennet, which was in full flow, and up the other side of the Valley:

River Kennet 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


A climb up along Stoney Lane:

Stoney Lane by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Ending up at Ashmore Green along some very quiet narrow roads:

Ashmore Green 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr


Finally back down past Henwick Cottage to my place:

Henwick Cottage 181119 by Philip Mock, on Flickr

Pip

 

[mk one]

Some great pictures, grew up by the sea, really miss it.

Warm and sunny today.

Went out for a short ride which turned into a longer one as it was a lot milder out than it felt inside.

The weather was nice and quite warm in the sun, though down the lanes in the shade it was icy cold. The trails were mostly hard from ice but a few had thawed and were still slipey mud from all the recent rain. That also left some deep puddles, which seems there was ice on top of obviously meant i had to ride through them all, forgotten how fun little things like that are. Some of the puddles though were over my axles and crank, so it was a case of get some speed, pick a foot you wanted to get wet and hope you didnt have to pedal halfway through so the other could stay dry.

Great way to spend a few spare hours.